API design principles and decision-making. REST vs GraphQL vs tRPC selection, response formats, versioning, pagination.
API design principles and decision-making. Learn to THINK, not copy fixed patterns.
| Topic | When to Use |
|---|---|
| API Style | Choosing between REST, GraphQL, tRPC |
| REST | Resource naming, HTTP methods, status codes |
| Response Format | Envelope pattern, error format, pagination |
| GraphQL | Schema design, when to use, security |
| tRPC | TypeScript monorepo, type safety |
| Versioning | URI/Header/Query versioning strategies |
| Auth | JWT, OAuth, Passkey, API Keys |
| Rate Limiting | Token bucket, sliding window |
| Documentation | OpenAPI/Swagger best practices |
Before designing an API:
DON'T:
DO:
backend-dev-guidelines — API implementationdatabase-design — Data structurestripe-integration — Payment API patterns